Hacker News Reader

Comment by jamiequint | Hacker News Reader

We're doing something a bit different here where we actually do need your info to give you a good experience. We're creating a style/fit profile for you and providing a more personalized experience. However, as I mention in a comment above, the reason everybody does this is because it works better, so really you're just a victim of human nature.

View on HN

If you've got the numbers to show that this sort of thing leads to more active and involved users then I can't really argue against it but you should stop pretending that this is the only way you could possibly give a good first experience. Off the top of my head it seems you could have an awesome first experience by starting with a bare minimum style quiz. I haven't seen what you have so far but odds are you wouldn't need the entire quiz you currently use up front. From that quiz you can present a page with a handful of selections that would fit the user's responses, giving them a rough view of what they can expect. From there you can prompt the user to properly sign up and take the full signup.

I have no idea what the numbers would look like, but it would certainly provide a pleasing no-registration initial experience.

Having put an email address into your landing page, it doesn't appear you've actually launched so I couldn't evaluate how necessary it is on my own of course and will have to take your word for it.

As for the other sites... this process might increase conversions up front but for me at least it causes fatigue. I'm much less likely to register at another site, or deal with any other product that requires registration before I can see any of the products based on my current experience.

Let me take the quiz and get some recommendations before I register. When providing those initial recommendations, suggest that I should register.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com